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August 27, 2026

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Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani (C) watches as US special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack prepares to sign an agreement in Damascus on September 16, 2025. Shaibani announced on September 16 a plan backed by Jordan and the United States to restore calm to Druze-majority Sweida province, which witnessed deadly violence in July. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP) (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA/AFP via Getty Images)

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Israel recalibrates Syria policy, explores path to security deal

Israel is rethinking its hard-line Syria policy and seeking to repair ties with US envoy and Donald Trump's confidant Tom Barrack amid a push for a security agreement with Damascus.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Palestinian militant group Hamas police officers stand guard as people attend the opening of the Fatah party's eighth general conference at Al-Azhar University in Gaza City on May 14, 2026.

Ex-defense minister: Israel in ‘worst possible’ Gaza situation as Hamas gains strength

Former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant criticized the Israeli government for allowing Hamas to retain control over half of the Gaza Strip.

A merchant ship "Jabotinsky" (former "Altalena"), chartered by Jewish military group Irgun Zvaei Leumi to carry weapons for Israeli fighters, burns near Tel Aviv beach, after being shelled by the Haganah, Israel, June 27, 1948.

Wreck of ship sunk by Israeli military in Irgun clash found after 78 years

The wreck of the Irgun underground's Altalena ship, bombed by the Israeli military in 1948 and deliberately sunk in 1949, was located off Israel's coast at a depth of 1,650 feet.

Latest News

Israel tightens election safeguards as public distrust surges: What to know

ilia YEFIMOVICH / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Why Turkey sees Israeli strikes in Syria as warning over its military role, Mecca Pact

A Turkish soldier from the 1st Border Regiment Command looks out over the border wall to Syria during alert drills at a military outpost on the Turkey/Syria border on March 2, 2017 in Kilis, Turkey.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Analysis

Turkey bets on US deconfliction as Israel widens Syria red lines

Turkey/Syria border

Ezgi Akin

Rina Bassist

By Ezgi Akin , Rina Bassist

Samuel Wendel

Senior Analyst, Middle East Business & Tech

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Adam Lucente

News and Business Correspondent

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Jack Dutton

Chief Business Correspondent

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Ben Caspit

Israel Columnist

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

Rina Bassist

Associate Editor (Israel)

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Benny Gantz (C), A former IDF Chief and the head of Israeli Resilience party speaks to supporters during an election campaign event in Tel Aviv. Israelis will vote in a parliamentary election on April 9, choosing among party lists of candidates to serve in the 121-seat Knesset

Israel’s middle class sags as aid package delayed

Young Israelis and the country's middle class are facing the biggest economic crisis Israel has ever experienced as the pandemic's second wave crashes.

Israel, UAE test potential for cooperation on COVID-19

The agreement signed between the United Arab Emirates' Group 42 and Israel’s IAI and Rafael companies offers a glimpse of the potential for cooperation -- if not deterred by annexation.

United Arab Emirates

Palestinian labourers queue to enter Israel through the Mitar checkpoint in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron on June 28, 2020, (Photo by HAZEM BADER / AFP) (Photo by HAZEM BADER/AFP via Getty Images)

Palestinian workers stay in Israel for three weeks in a row

Some 46,000 Palestinians are now lodged on construction sites in Israel; they must stay where they work for three weeks before going back home.

Palestinian demonstrators wave national flags during a protest against the expansion of existing Jewish settlements, in the town of Biddya, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on July 6, 2020. In the background bungalows built by settlers on the outskirts of the Karni Shamron settlement are visible. (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP) (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkish diplomat criticizes West Bank annexation in Jordan

Turkey's ambassador to Jordan is the latest Middle Eastern and international politician to criticize Israel's plans to annex parts of the Palestinian territory.

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 28: Representative Nita Lowey (D-NY) speaks about the things she witnessed on a trip to Israel and Auschwitz-Birkenau as part of a bipartisan delegation from the House of Representatives on January 28, 2020 in Washington, DC. The 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau is being remembered this week around the world. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Nita Lowey

House Democrats revive bid to fully restore Palestinian aid

The Democratic-held House is launching another bid to increase Palestinian economic aid while facilitating people-to-people programs with Israel.

Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu speaks on screen from Israel, during the AIPAC annual meeting in Washington, DC, on March 26, 2019. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP) (Photo credit should read JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

Intel: AIPAC rebukes Democrats again for bill to keep US aid out of annexation

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee issued its third rebuke of Democratic lawmakers in as many weeks over their repeated attempts to keep Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from annexing significant portions of the West Bank.

Germany, France, Egypt and Jordan issue statement against West Bank annexation

The countries wrote that they oppose Israel's planned incorporation of parts of the Palestinian territory. The plans have hit roadblocks in Israel this month.

A man wearing a protective mask amid the Covid-19 pandemic stands in a shop with a sign on the window reading in Hebrew: please wear a mask in the centre of Jerusalem on July 7, 2020. - As of today, Israel had recorded more than 31,000 coronavirus cases, including 338 deaths. In recent weeks, the country of about nine million people has regularly registered between 500 to 1,000 new cases each day. (Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA / AFP) (Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images)

Second wave of virus pummels Netanyahu

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's popularity is falling amid a spike in coronavirus cases.

Iranian security and rescue staff work at the site of an explosion at the Sina At'har health centre in the upmarket northern neighbourhood of Tajrish in the capital Tehran on July 1, 2020. - Iranian police questioned four people as part of investigations into a powerful explosion that killed 19 people at a Tehran clinic the night before, state media reported. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Mysterious explosions escalate Israel, Iran tensions

Ahead of the US presidential elections, and on the backdrop of mysterious explosions, Israel prepares for various escalation scenarios on Iran’s part.

This picture taken on May 14, 2020 shows a view of the empty check-in counters of Israel's national flag carrier El-Al, at a terminal at Ben-Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv, due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. - El Al's CEO Gonen Ussishkin had written Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a personal letter asking for assistance. The airline company had rejected an aid package drafted by the Finance Ministry, and is seeking government backing for a $400 million loan from Israel Discount Bank and

Israeli airline reaches bailout deal with government

Israel’s flag carrier El Al and the government reached a bailout plan, which would mean huge layoffs and sizing down flights.

Israel launches new spy satellite

The move follows a series of mysterious happenings in Iran, including at a nuclear facility.

Israel approves exploration, bidding on disputed offshore field

Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz announced June 23 the opening of bidding for drilling in Block 72, off Israel’s northern shores, which Lebanon says is adjacent to its own fields.